1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heating module for an internal combustion engine having at least one intake port. The heating module includes an electrically heatable heating element which is surrounded by flow on all sides and is arranged in the intake port and capable of connection to an electrical voltage source by connecting terminals.
2. Description of Related Art
A heating module is known from EP-A-0 469 261. The heating element is plate-shaped and directed at an acute angle towards the injected jet of fuel which results in a small resistance to flow within the intake port. Due to the flat heating surface of this device it is not possible to prevent disadvantageous wetting of the walls of the intake port, which are still cold during the warm-up phase. Injected fuel components, which are not completely atomized and are formed by larger drops which cannot spontaneously follow the flow of the air due to their relatively large mass moment of inertia, slide without vaporization over the flat surface of the heating element into the intake port. This result is not satisfactory with a view towards good cold-running properties of the downstream internal combustion engine.